Germany- Berlin

Art in the Bodemuseum (Berlin).

21 years had passed since the opening of the national gallery in 1876 before the next foundation stone was laid on the museum island. There had, in fact, been an architectural competition as early as 1882, but the results were considered inadequate. Finally Ernst Ihne was commissioned to design the Emperor Friedrich Museum, now known as the Bode museum. The neo-baroque building is majestically reflected in the water of the two arms of the Spree at the point where they re-unite. The dome, which is above a hall of honour in the interior, is at its most dominant in this exposed position. The entrance is in the rounded end of the building and is reached via the two bridges. The three-wing exterior is much more complex in the interior and has a total of five open courtyards. The last building on the museum island is the Pergamonmuseum built from 1912-30. Because of the rapid expansion of the collection of works from antiquity, it had to occupy the whole area between the Neues Museum, the national gallery and the S-Bahn urban railway, and it needed high rooms with skylights. The plans were designed by Alfred Messel who had become famous for his department store architecture, but he died before construction began. Thus the work began in 1912 under the direction of his friend from youth, Ludwig Hoffmann, but construction dragged on until 1930 and still remained unfinished. In addition to the existing three wing complex it was planned to build a colonnade between the side wings on Kupfergraben, a single storey extension to the Neues Museum along the water (which is at present also part of the plans for the restoration of the Neues Museum), an entrance hall (the present glass box dates from 1982) and a wing linking it to the Bodemuseum, which is cut off from the rest of the island by the railway line. In addition, it was planned to reorganise the urban structure of the area opposite the main frontage and to create a link from there to Hegelplatz in front of the university. Colossal Doric pilasters spanning both storeys sub-divide the side wings, and on the ends the strikingly steep gables are supported by half-columns. Hoffmann adapted Messel's heavy "state baroque" to classical forms which create a transition to the architectural language of the Neues Museum and Altes Museum. The windowless tall central structure and the large wall surface of the side wings give the complex a rather massive appearance.